Pick A Drop Off Time and Stick With It

[Unregistered]

I open at 7am and I feel like parents think they can drop off whenever without telling me ahead of time. Some days parent drops off at 7:30, some days 8:30 and i dont know if they are dropping off later or they forgot to tell me the child wasnt coming. So i text them and they either say “yes we are on our way”, “running late” or “oh i thought dad texted u”
Do you require parents to pick a drop off time and stick with it? Or do you have a drop off window? I find it irritating not knowing when the kids are coming. Is that a me problem or do others feel the same? Lol

[Blackcat31]

I open at 7am and I feel like parents think they can drop off whenever without telling me ahead of time. Some days parent drops off at 7:30, some days 8:30 and i dont know if they are dropping off later or they forgot to tell me the child wasnt coming. So i text them and they either say “yes we are on our way”, “running late” or “oh i thought dad texted u”
Do you require parents to pick a drop off time and stick with it? Or do you have a drop off window? I find it irritating not knowing when the kids are coming. Is that a me problem or do others feel the same? Lol

I have contracted hours for each family

[LysesKids]

I open at 7am and I feel like parents think they can drop off whenever without telling me ahead of time. Some days parent drops off at 7:30, some days 8:30 and i dont know if they are dropping off later or they forgot to tell me the child wasnt coming. So i text them and they either say “yes we are on our way”, “running late” or “oh i thought dad texted u”
Do you require parents to pick a drop off time and stick with it? Or do you have a drop off window? I find it irritating not knowing when the kids are coming. Is that a me problem or do others feel the same? Lol

I have set contracted times & explain to the families that if they do not call or show within 30 minutes of their set time, I will text once then mark them absent for the day if no response to the text within 15 minutes; I have very few children I care for and I refuse to sit around all day because a parent doesn't have the courtesy to let me know their schedule

[Snowmom]

My drop offs are between 7:30-8:45. They can drop off anytime between then. At 8:45, they are marked absent unless I was notified the previous day and I approved a late arrival.

Yes, I have turned away people at 8:50.
Yes, I have lost potential enrollments for that policy.

It's a stickler for me though for a number of reasons, mostly safety (SA bus time).

[Cat Herder]

"Or do you have a drop off window?"

I have a 9am drop-off cut-off time.

If I have not heard from them, I send a quick text to both parents making sure they did not forget to drop off a sleeping child.

That text does allow for some "but can we still come?", so I have become pretty good at the "We have already begun circle time, see you tomorrow."

As always, there are exceptions to the rule. Rare exceptions.

[MarinaVanessa]

I have contracted hours so each family is different but I require (it's in my policies) them let me know in advance what time they'll be arriving each day and if they're running late to let me know.

For the families that constantly forget to let me know I just go about my day and usually the first time that they show up and find that I'm not here because we went on a walk, to the park or on a field trip etc and freak out is all it takes for them to get better at it.

[CityGarden]

Currently I have a one hour drop off window...
8:30am - 9:30am with no drop off after 9:30am
This has saved me so much and I am grateful for the window.

I am transitioning to a 1/2 day program and moving forward with that program want all of the kids to arrive and dismiss at the same time each day. I'm still debating but either 8:45am - 9:00am or 9:00am - 9:15am drop off time.

[Ariana]

From 7am when I open to 9:30am we are in free play so parents can drop off any time during that two hour window. My parents have contracted times but they do not drop off and pick up at those exact times. Sometimes they are off by 20 minutes or more. At 9:30am we do snack and then head outside. In my contract if parents are not here and have not notified me of being late we are outside and I do not answer the front door.

99% of the time someone texts or I will text them to make sure everything is ok.

[Gemma]

I open at 7am and I feel like parents think they can drop off whenever without telling me ahead of time. Some days parent drops off at 7:30, some days 8:30 and i dont know if they are dropping off later or they forgot to tell me the child wasnt coming. So i text them and they either say “yes we are on our way”, “running late” or “oh i thought dad texted u”
Do you require parents to pick a drop off time and stick with it? Or do you have a drop off window? I find it irritating not knowing when the kids are coming. Is that a me problem or do others feel the same? Lol

As long as the child doesn't oversleep and later have napping issues, I'm ok with parents dropping off or picking up at any time, within my hours of business

[LysesKids]

As long as the child doesn't oversleep and later have napping issues, I'm ok with parents dropping off or picking up at any time, within my hours of business

I personally see this as an issue; I find that parents that let littles sleep in won't nap when everyone else does; hence why I set in my policies, set drop-off & pick up hrs. Unless it's an illness emergency, no drop off/pick up between 11:30-2:30 pm due to lunch and nap time; If you let your child sleep in... i expect you to keep them home during nap time